West Indies' captain Ramnaresh Sarwan says he is 90 per cent fit. - AP

bridgetown, barbados (cmc)

West Indies captain Ramnaresh Sarwan has reported that he's close to full fitness and will soon return to competitive cricket.

Sarwan has been recovering from a shoulder injury he sustained during the second Test of the West Indies' recent tour of England, which necessitated his premature return to the Caribbean.

"The recovery has been coming along pretty well, and I am about 90 per cent recovered," Sarwan told reporters yesterday, following the launch of the Digicel Youth Coaching Clinics at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies.

"I have been doing some weights and I have been doing some throwing, so it is coming along really well and I am satisfied with the way things have been going so far.

"Basically, we have been giving it cold and heat treatment, ultra-sound, but I have also been running to keep the rest of my body fit and I have also been doing some cycling.

"I will probably start playing in the next two weeks or so. Club cricket will be going on in Guyana, so I am really looking forward to that opportunity to start back playing."

Sarwan noted that though he was still experiencing some pain, the hardest part has been dealing with sitting and watching his West Indies teammates play.

"It has been frustrating to be getting injured on such a regular basis,Ó said Sarwan, who also had his instep crushed last December and his right thumb fractured just prior to the World Cup in the Caribbean.

"But I think it is important for me to stay mentally strong because I am playing a sport at an elite level and things like this will happen. It is just about putting mind over matter, forget about it as quickly as possible, and this would also help me to become much stronger mentally as well."

Sarwan is looking forward to the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa, but he would like the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to organise a proper training camp prior to the team's departure.

"I have not played too many Twenty20 matches, but it is another opportunity for us to make our mark on the world stage," he said.

"Chris and the rest of the guys played it very, very well in England, so I think it is going to be an exciting tournament and everyone is looking forward to it.

"What would be great is if the WICB can stage a camp, where we can play a few games before we leave. I am thinking something like four or five games in a 10 to 15 day period, so that it would give us a feel what we have to do.

"It would also help some of the other guys that have never played this type of cricket before feel what Twenty20 is all about, and I will talk to the WICB, but it is something I would love to see happen."

Sarwan led his native Guyana to the inaugural Stanford Twenty20 Cup title last year.